Runners Of NYC: Central Park Edition

The Runners of NYC Podcast sets up shop at Engineer's Gate — one of the busiest corners in New York running.Same concept as always: We post up, see who's willing to stop, and let the conversations go wherever they go.And the stories this time covered a lot of ground:– We start with a couple of high schoolers thinking through what it means to be in their last year of running for their school– A guy who only found running because of soccer, and then found out he was better at the running part– There's a runner who tells us the story behind the day he shot the cover of Runner's World– A former college runner on the strange in-between that comes after eligibility runs out — no team, no schedule, nobody keeping score, and figuring out what running is for now– A woman who's finding her way back to the marathon after time away from it– A guy who came to running through a breakup and stayed with it because of how it makes him feel every day since– And we close with two Xavier guys on what that program gave them and what changed the second they got to collegeBe sure to subscribe to Runners of NYC on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your shows.▶️ APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/runners-of-nyc-podcast/id1438435120▶️ SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4DD2jtIBEcyVohfiimggvM🗣️ Follow your hosts: @chris_j_chavez on Instagram | @regularpatryk on Instagram

The Runners of NYC Podcast is back outside, and this time we set up shop in Central Park by the Daniel Webster statue.Same concept as always: We post up, see who's willing to stop, and let the conversations go wherever they go.And the stories this time covered a lot of ground:– We meet two guys who came to running through Hyrox — A high schooler whose love for the sport has been quietly building all year as cross country season approaches– We talk to a sub-elite local who explains how she got her foot in the door on the road racing circuit by simply emailing race directors and asking for a shot– There's a guy whose story of addiction recovery is inseparable from his story as a runner– A woman visiting from Tennessee who's got the OTQ on her mind and makes a strong case for why the running scene back home deserves more attention than it gets– And we close with a guy who's logged miles in neighborhoods all over the cityBe sure to subscribe to Runners of NYC on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your shows.▶️ APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/runners-of-nyc-podcast/id1438435120▶️ SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4DD2jtIBEcyVohfiimggvM🗣️ Follow your hosts: @chris_j_chavez on Instagram | @regularpatryk on Instagram

The Runners of NYC Podcast is back outside, and this time we took it to Brooklyn. Chris Chavez and Patryk Odedina posted up in Prospect Park on the day before the 2026 Brooklyn Half Marathon.Same concept as always: we set up shop, see who's willing to stop, and let the conversations go wherever they go. Turns out the day before a big race is the perfect time to catch people. Everyone's out to pick up their bibs, everyone's a little anxious/excited, and everyone's got a reason they're toeing the line.And the reasons were all over the map. We talked to a 61-year-old who's still lacing up to stay healthy, and a guy fighting his way back from a four-year injury. We meet a dad in a suit who runs for his kids, two friends building a business together over matcha and miles, and a visitor breaking down how the Atlanta run scene stacks up against New York. There's a woman who joined a girls run club and got completely hooked, two friends repping Texas, a runner who just finished Boston and is already chasing a New York City Marathon qualifier, and one impossibly positive guy in who's found his whole purpose in the sport.It's a snapshot of who actually shows up the day before a race — and why they run at all.Be sure to subscribe to Runners of NYC on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your shows.▶️ APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/runners-of-nyc-podcast/id1438435120▶️ SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4DD2jtIBEcyVohfiimggvM🗣️ Follow your hosts: @chris_j_chavez on Instagram | @regularpatryk on Instagram

The Runners of NYC Podcast is back and we're taking it outside.This will be less sitting across a table, fewer Zoom recordings and more catching runners in their natural habitat across all five boroughs. The new format is simple: Chris Chavez and Patryk Odedina post up at New York's best running spots and talk to whoever's willing to stop and chat. Think blind speed dating, but make it a running podcast. We rarely know who's going to sit down with us and that's exactly the point. We're meeting runners where they are, literally.For our first crack at the concept, we headed to the Bronx and set up at Joseph Yancey Track, right in the shadow of Yankee Stadium. Our anchor for the day: The Bronx Burners, a run club on a mission to "build a stronger Bronx community through opportunities in sport by powering all through health & wellness, social, and academic initiatives to expand their potential."The origin story is pure NYC. Back in July 2023, Rob Dalto stood in Central Park holding a sign that asked, "Are you running the New York City Marathon?" — just hoping to spark a conversation. Shaquille Roberts, a Bronx native, stopped. The more they talked, the more they spotted a gap: plenty of young people wanted to run, but nobody had handed them a roadmap for how to start. So they built one. The Bronx Burners Run Club was born.Be sure to subscribe to Runners of NYC on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your shows.▶️ APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/runners-of-nyc-podcast/id1438435120▶️ SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4DD2jtIBEcyVohfiimggvM🗣️ Follow your hosts: @chris_j_chavez on Instagram | @regularpatryk on Instagram💻 Learn more about The Bronx Burners here: https://www.bronxburnersrc.org/ or follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bronxburnersrc

Runners of NYC is relaunching. We're changing up the format — fewer studio sit-downs, more conversations out in the wild across the five boroughs — and we're thrilled to welcome Patryk Odedina as our new co-host. Same mission of surfacing the untold stories behind NYC's running culture, with a fresh approach to how we tell them. More soon.First...Meet Patryk.------"I was at the gym one day, doing the typical dude thing — asking my neighbor Kenny what he was working on. Chest? Back? Arms? He just looked at me, straight-faced, and said: 'Five or six miles on the treadmill.' I swear, I had never heard someone say something like that in my life. And Kenny's not some lean guy — he's a husky dude. So I'm standing there like, what is he talking about? Then he tells me he's training for the New York City Marathon. That's all I needed. I thought, if Kenny can do it, I can do it."Patryk Odedina is a Bronx-based runner who picked up the sport at 29 after a gym conversation with his neighbor Kenny, and has since completed all six World Marathon Majors while chipping nearly 90 minutes off his debut time.Background:– Born in Poland, raised in the Bronx from age 3. Polish mother, Nigerian father.– Played basketball at Lincoln High School (the one in Yonkers) and Lehman College. No running background.– Spent six-plus years in tech salesThe origin story: Late 2018, lifting weights in a Harlem gym, his neighbor Kenny mentioned he was training for the NYC Marathon. Patryk had never heard anyone say something like that out loud. He signed up for the 2020 race through Team for Kids before knowing what a 5K was.Marathon résumé:– 2020 NYC (virtual): 4:40. Ran the actual route solo in the rain; mom as support crew.– 2021 NYC: ~4:57. The 50th anniversary edition.– 2023 London: 3:58. Finally cracked sub-4 on his fourth attempt.– Six Stars: NYC → London → Berlin → Tokyo → Boston → Chicago. Wore a Yankees singlet in Boston.– 2026 Jersey City: 3:09. Now chasing sub-3.Beyond the race: Associate board member of the Bronx Burners, a 501(c)3 that has distributed $100K+ in college scholarships to Bronx youth. Creator of the Run Clubs of NYC video series — 49 NYC clubs and counting.This is Runners of NYC. A podcast from CITIUS MAG. You can catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Spotify. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter | @RunnersOfNYCEmail any comments, feedback or possible sponsorship ideas to [email protected]

“What I love about being out here and doing this is that I didn’t think it was accessible. I didn’t think I was going to run sub-3. Why would I think that? That’s crazy. But what I’ve been able to do is inspire people, which I wasn’t trying to do but I feel good about that. I just want us to all feel – especially Black American women – that we can do that. I started because I wanted to train and get faster. There’s nothing stopping anyone from doing that.” My guest for this episode is Erica Stanley Dottin, who is a mother of two, a wife and runs with Black Roses NYC. She is a producer and also works as the Tracksmith New York City Community Manager. At 48 years old, she just ran 2:52:05 for a huge personal best at the Berlin Marathon. The time makes her the 25th Black American woman to break three hours in the marathon since 1973. It’s a list that started being tracked by Ted Corbitt and is now kept by his son, Gary. We discuss her running career from her sprinting days at Georgetown to what called her to the marathon. What started off as a fun hobby for herself in the mid-2000s, she eventually found the Black Roses and coach Knox Robinson in New York City which elevated her training. We talk about how she managed to do it all and the inspiration she serves to other women in her community. You can follow Erica on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/estanleydott/ This is Runners of NYC. A podcast from CITIUS MAG. Host Chris Chavez looks to bring you many of the untold stories behind luminaries and legends that make up New York City’s running culture. You can catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Spotify. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter | @RunnersOfNYC Email any comments, feedback or possible sponsorship ideas to [email protected] Music for the show is by Future Generations. Podcast artwork by Kyle Klosinski.

“It’s refreshing because I spent quite a long time in my career thinking about being in the top 1%. Being able to pull back and realize that there is this joy and enjoyment that people have to go out…They may not have a reason to get up other than to be with some other people or have time for themselves in the chaotic space that is New York. It was nice to engage with running in a different way. That’s why it brings me a refreshment and a perspective that there are so many different stories and reasons why people are doing this and it doesn’t always have to be about making it to the very upper echelon.” For this episode, we welcome Rebeka Stowe. She is a hell of an athlete and has qualified for the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships seven times in her career, including the 2012 Olympic Trials in the steeplechase. She is a former Big 12 Conference champion while attending Kansas. She trained professionally for some time with the New Jersey-New York Track Club under legendary coach Frank Gagliano. He is just one of the handful of great coaches that she has surrounded herself with throughout her career, which has played a major role in her own coaching of all levels including high school. She's someone who has led so many people through their own running ups and downs because she cares about the person before the performance and you''ll learn why. She leads runs on Monday evenings out of As Is NYC in Hells Kitchen so if you're feeling inspired after she shares her story, join her for a run out of there. Follow Rebeka on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebekastowe/ This is Runners of NYC. A podcast from CITIUS MAG. Hosts Zac Price and Chris Chavez look to bring you many of the untold stories behind luminaries and legends that make up New York City’s running culture. You can catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Spotify. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter | @RunnersOfNYC Email any comments, feedback or possible sponsorship ideas to [email protected] Music for the show is by Future Generations. Podcast artwork by Kyle Klosinski.

"Going back to how welcoming Dao-Yi Chow, Eugene Tong and Ryo Yamamoto are. That sets the tone for everybody else. That's a huge reason why Paolo and I are as welcoming as we are. We've learned from them. We want to pay it forward. We do realize that yes, you can feel alone in a big group of people and we just want people to know that we're not going to leave you behind. That's something we try to drive on a weekly basis and try to emphasize that we are a club for the purpose of community. The PRs will come. It's crazy too that we're not totally after PRs – sometimes we are – but they just come because we're having fun while running. Sometimes you don't realize you're improving while you're improving." Our guests for this new episode are Paolo Alberca and Kim Yee. They are the captains of Old Man Run Club. Paolo Alberca is an account manager for a medical supplier. Kim works in the technology department within the Creative Artists Agency. In this episode, you'll get to know them, how they got into running and eventually caught the marathon big that now has them leading so many others on their respective marathon journeys. What started as a Saturday morning run crew has blown up into one of the biggest running clubs in New York City. They're currently in the middle of their summer training block called Oasis, which is a training and long run series aimed at getting people ready for the fall marathons. If you want the original story of how this club started by Ryo Yamamoto, Dao-Yi Chow and Eugene Tong, you can go back and listen to episode 15.  It's one of my favorite episodes, especially seeing the trajectory of this club's footprint on the scene. We recorded this at Nom Wah Tea Parlor, which is where we recorded another past episode. It's a little loud in the background but the substance of the conversation is quality. This is Runners of NYC. A podcast from CITIUS MAG. Hosts Zac Price and Chris Chavez look to bring you many of the untold stories behind luminaries and legends that make up New York City’s running culture. You can catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Spotify. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter | @RunnersOfNYC

“In 2006, I started running for a friend who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which is a rare blood cancer. She had been diagnosed years before but she had always seemed fine so I never really thought about it. When I saw her go through a stem cell transplant, where they basically beat your body down, strip you of your immune system, do the stem cell transplant and build you back up again. It’s a brutal process. I decided I wanted to do something just to support her. Then over the years, it just started to ramp up. I kept meeting more people involved with the organization and more people with the disease. As the events grew and got bigger with more attention, it just got to a point where I was running for this thing that was a whole lot bigger than I was.” Eric Gelber is an executive vice president at CBRE. He is a father. He is a husband. For some of our focus, he is also quite an endurance athlete. Back in 2016, he ran 200 miles in Central Park to honor his friend Anita and raise money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. As Anita bravely faced a cancer diagnosis, he took to running to raise money to aid in research, awareness and treatment. He ran marathons and ultra marathons but his biggest feat was running about 33 times around Central Park's outer six-mile loop. It didn't come easy. He failed at it twice but never gave up.  In this episode, you'll learn more about his work, how he juggles that work, run, life balance, overcoming failure and now raising more than 1.7 million dollars to fight multiple myeloma. You can watch a documentary about that 200 mile run on Amazon Prime, if you search 200 miles. It’s a great film. On Sept. 17, he will return to Central Park but not to run. He’s rowing 200 miles while at at Engineer’s Gate. If you’re in the area, come out to row alongside him, cheer him on and learn more about his cause.  Follow Eric on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justamiletogo/ Check out his fundraising efforts for his 200-mile row in Central Park: https://give.themmrf.org/fundraiser/3270439 Watch 200 Miles on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/200-Miles-Eric-Gelber/dp/B081S8P7QH This is Runners of NYC. A podcast from CITIUS MAG. Hosts Zac Price and Chris Chavez look to bring you many of the untold stories behind luminaries and legends that make up New York City’s running culture. You can catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Spotify. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter | @RunnersOfNYC

“Chinatown Runners is not a crew and it's not based in any specific locality. It's not a crew. It's a movement. I wanted it to feel bigger than just this one group that really sort of permeated throughout the entire running community worldwide. When you think about it, there are Asian-American Pacific Islander-centric communities all over the world outside of just America and Canada....Every neighborhood and borough has a dozen or so specialized running crews and groups, which is amazing and I don't want to try to eat anybody's lunch, but the idea is for it to feel really inclusive. And that's kind of the reason why I fight hard to say that it's not a running crew, but it's a movement...All you have to do to tag in is start or end a run in a Chinatown or an Asian-American Pacific Islander neighborhood or business even. Throw up the hashtag and show some love to a community that can really use it right now.” Victoria Lo is a designer and senior creative with years of experience in New York City's running community. Most recently, she started Chinatown Runners as a way of bringing support, awareness and love to protect and preserve the Chinatowns and AAPI-centric neighborhoods in cities across the world. She underscores that this is not a performance team, crew or club but a movement. As noted on their website: "We run to fill in the gaps that global tourism can’t fill during a worldwide pandemic. We run to keep the streets safer by watching out for the most vulnerable. We run to celebrate the diverse cultural narratives that make our country wonderful." In this episode, you'll hear more about what drove her to take action and start this group as anti-Asian hate crimes and violence is on the rise. Follow Victoria on Instagram:@omgvics More on Chinatown Runners: https://www.chinatownrunners.com/ | Instagram Resources: The AAPI Community Fund; Stop AAPI Hate; Save Our Chinatowns;  More here Mark your calendars for Sunday, March 21 at 10 a.m. at Union Square Park. Follow @runningtoprotest for more information. This is Runners of NYC. A biweekly podcast from CITIUS MAG. Hosts Leigh Anne Sharek and Chris Chavez look to bring you many of the untold stories behind luminaries and legends that make up New York City’s running culture. You can catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Spotify. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. Episode photo by @crossinguard_ninja.